Related papers: Denaturation of Circular DNA: Supercoils and Overt…
The denaturation transition which takes place in circular DNA is analyzed by extending the Poland-Scheraga model to include the winding degrees of freedom. We consider the case of a homopolymer whereby the winding number of the double…
We generalize the Poland-Scheraga (PS) model to the case of a circular DNA, taking into account the twisting of the two strains around each other. Guided by recent single-molecule experiments on DNA strands, we assume that the torsional…
The Poland-Scheraga (PS) model for the helix-coil transition of DNA considers the statistical mechanics of the thermally induced binding of two complementary strands of DNA. In this paper, we show how to modify the PS model when a torque is…
The statistical mechanics of DNA denaturation under fixed linking number is qualitatively different from that of the unconstrained DNA. Quantitatively different melting scenarios are reached from two alternative assumptions, namely, that…
The Poland-Scheraga model for DNA denaturation, besides playing a central role in applications, has been widely studied in the physical and mathematical literature over the past decades. More recently a natural generalization has been…
We generalize the Poland-Scheraga model to consider DNA denaturation in the presence of an external stretching force. We demonstrate the existence of a force-induced DNA denaturation transition and obtain the temperature-force phase…
We numerically study the binary disordered Poland-Scheraga model of DNA denaturation, in the regime where the pure model displays a first order transition (loop exponent $c=2.15>2$). We use a Fixman-Freire scheme for the entropy of loops…
The denaturation dynamics of a long double-stranded DNA is studied by means of a model of the Poland-Scheraga type. We note that the linking of the two strands is a locally conserved quantity, hence we introduce local updates that respect…
We study pairs of interacting self-avoiding walks on the 3d simple cubic lattice. They have a common origin and are allowed to overlap only at the same monomer position along the chain. The latter overlaps are indeed favored by an energetic…
The linking number (topological entanglement) and the writhe (geometrical entanglement) of a model of circular double stranded DNA undergoing a thermal denaturation transition are investigated by Monte Carlo simulations. By allowing the…
We introduce a three-state model for a single DNA chain under tension that distinguishes between B-DNA, S-DNA and M (molten or denatured) segments and at the same time correctly accounts for the entropy of molten loops, characterized by the…
We discuss possible mechanisms that may impact the order of the transition between denaturated and bound DNA states and lead to changes in the scaling laws that govern conformational properties of DNA strands. To this end, we re-consider…
Poland-Scheraga models were introduced to describe the DNA denaturation transition. We give a rigorous and refined discussion of a family of these models. We derive possible scaling functions in the neighborhood of the phase transition…
Loops are essential secondary structure elements in folded DNA and RNA molecules and proliferate close to the melting transition. Using a theory for nucleic acid secondary structures that accounts for the logarithmic entropy c ln m for a…
We compare results of previous simulations of a simple model of DNA denaturation to the predictions of the Poland-Scheraga model. Concentrating on the critical region of the latter model we calculate both thermodynamic quantities and the…
We perform an extensive numerical study of the disordered Poland-Scheraga (PS) model for DNA denaturation in which self-avoidance is completely taken into account. In complement to our previous work, we focus here on the finite size scaling…
In the framework of the Poland Scheraga model of DNA denaturation, we derive a recursion relation for the partition function of double stranded DNA, allowing for mismatches between the two strands. This relation is studied numerically using…
We investigate the generalized Poland-Scheraga model, which is used in the bio-physical literature to model the DNA denaturation transition, in the case where the two strands are allowed to be non-complementary (and to have different…
Experimental studies of the thermal denaturation of DNA yield a strong indication that the transition is first order. This transition has been theoretically studied since the early sixties, mostly within an approach in which the microscopic…
We numerically study the wetting (adsorption) transition of a polymer chain on a disordered substrate in 1+1 dimension.Following the Poland-Scheraga model of DNA denaturation, we use a Fixman-Freire scheme for the entropy of loops. This…